Walpurgis Night Uppsala Chamber Orchestra

About the Performance

Participants

Conductor: Tobias Ringborg
Choir: Allmänna Sången
Soloists: Anna Larsson, alto, Fredrik Hagerberg, tenor, Kristoffer Töyrä, bass-baritone Uppsala Chamber Orchestra

Concert Introduction 6:20 PM – 6:40 PM

Program

Wilhelm Stenhammar (1871-1927): Vårnatt op. 30
Maria Lithell Flyg (b. 1965): Vartannat andetag kommer från havet
Benjamin Staern (b. 1978): Ur Sånger om bländvit kärlek
Lars-Erik Larsson (1908-1986): Pastoralsvit
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847): Die erste Walpurgisnacht, op. 60

Magnificent choral music, poetry and a beloved Pastoral Suite. Allmänna Sången and three vocal soloists guest
Uppsala Chamber Orchestra conducted by Tobias Ringborg and three vocal soloists. It will be poetry’s
evening this concert evening before Valborgsmässoafton.

The first May Day night

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s poem Die erste Walpurgisnacht (The First Walpurgis Night),
inspired by old German legends, tells of the efforts of the Druids in the Harz Mountains to
practice their pagan rituals in the face of new and dominant Christian forces.

It was set to music by a young Felix Mendelssohn as a secular cantata for soloists, choir and orchestra. The
first version was premiered in his parents’ home in 1831. He then worked on the cantata from then
on for 13 years and the final version was premiered in Leipzig in 1843.

Moods of nature

First in the program is “Spring Night”, with Oscar Levertin’s nature poetry from the late 1800s, which was then
set to music by Stenhammar in 1912. Other nature moods and with a focus on the climate permeate Maria
Lithell Flyg’s orchestral work “Every second Breath comes from the Ocean” from 2022.

Poems set to music

We will also hear a song from Swedish composer Benjamin Stearn’s “Songs of dazzling white love”
settings of Karin Boye’s poems, written for Anna Larsson. Lars-Erik Larsson’s well-known and
beloved Pastoral Suite from 1938 has in the second movement also been inspired by Oscar Levertin’s poetry.

Exciting soloists

Alten Anna Larsson is a renowned opera singer who has performed at several major opera houses both in
Sweden and internationally. Fredrik Hagerberg and Kristoffer Töyrä are two promising young opera singers
who have received several scholarships and performed at the major concert halls and opera houses in Sweden. Töyrä
appeared in 2024 at the Folkoperan in Stockholm in a new production of Herr Arnes penningar.

Public Singing

The Allmänna Sången choir is considered one of Sweden’s leading choirs. They have won several prestigious
competitions in Europe and collaborated with Karl-Magnus Fredriksson and Kroumata, among others.
The choir last visited Uppsala Chamber Orchestra in 2022. For Uppsala audiences, Allmänna Sången is known
for the traditional spring concert and Christmas concert at Uppsala Castle. Since 2009, Maria Goundorina has been
the vocal director of Allmänna Sången.

Conductor and violinist

Tobias Ringborg is as successful in opera houses as he is on the concert stage, as a conductor and violinist.
Tobias began his career as a conductor in 2000, when he won a conducting competition in Helsingborg.
Since then he has performed with all Swedish and many Scandinavian orchestras, in addition to his
international career. He last visited Uppsala Chamber Orchestra on Epiphany 2025.

The concert is organized by Musik i Uppland and is part of the Orchestra Series – Big Subscription

Date and time: April 29, 2027, 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM